AOPA is opposing a move by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to raise fees for unicoms and other ground station radios for the second year in a row.

In joint formal comments filed with the FCC on June 22, AOPA and others said that the agency’s notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) appears to target aviation ground licensees for “an unjustified and disproportionate increase in their regulatory fees,” adding that “the proposed fee increase appears to lack any rational basis or supporting data.”

The groups added that the proposal would negatively affect the economic well-being of aviation ground licensees at a pivotal moment, just as the industry is poised to transition to NextGen technologies.

The comments were filed in response to an NPRM that would increase regulatory fees by approximately 17 percent following a 100-percent increase the previous year.